Secrets
by Yuruya
Summary: "She always gets paranoid by the littlest things like tiny noises from the streets, silent murmurs, nightmares and intuitions. She didn't look helpless though, nor did she look scared. She isn't as strong as Mikasa, but she isn't weak either. She just looked, out of place. As if she came from another universe. As if she didn't belong here."
1. Long intro

_**Author's Note**_: Just finished watching the remaining 13 episodes of SnK. I guess my SnK-Hiatus took longer than I wanted. And wow, the ending was a real cliff-hanger! I'm practically tearing my hair off! I really wanna know what happens next! (but I don't read mangas. not unless I know that they may not have an upcoming season) Knowing that its SnK we're talking about, I'm guessing there will be another season 5-7 months from now, or obviously, next year. I'm still high about the ending so I ended up drawing some doodles of SnK and now I'm writing a one-shot. Go figure! The **characters might be OOC** and **the story might be a bit/a lot different **from the real thing. I'm an amateur so please bear with me. I **used one of my OC** in here_, just saying_. Enough with this rant, let's get to the story!

**P.S**. the way this story goes **might not end the way you want **it to be. You have been warned.

* * *

Near the riverbank, there were 4 children, about 10 years old, making their way towards their own homes. Two of them had some sort of wooden bags slung behind their backs filled with twigs and branches for firewood; one carried a few branches with her arms wrapped around it just to help her friends carry them, while the other carried a huge book.

The sun was setting, and the afternoon glow was reflecting at the river, making everything sparkle with a wonderful gleam. There was a calm breeze in the air and everything felt so peaceful. Hearing the birds chirp harmoniously, you'd think that it's the most normal day ever.

They were conversing about how wonderful the outer world was, the blonde boy was especially enthusiastic about it. "I heard that there's this huge pile of white dirt somewhere! They say it's really cold there and that you need to wear thicker clothing!" the blonde boy said dreamily.

"Cool! Then we should go look for some spare clothes later back home." the brunette boy's voice was filled with the same enthusiasm of the blonde's.

"What about scarves like Mikasa's? Do you have any more?" the blonde asked, pointing at Mikasa's scarf.

"My mom made it for me for my birthday last year. So it's a no." the brunette boy contemplated.

A girl with a red scarf joined in the conversation, "then why don't us 3—no- us 4 share this scarf I'm wearing?" the girl smiled then looked at their other companion.

"…Sure. That would be wonderful." A girl with short reddish-brown hair smiled meekly. Soon after, her smile disappeared.

"Hey Lei, What's up? You've been acting all depressed all day." His eyebrows furrowed, Eren complained, hiding the concern behind his words. This caught the so-called-Lei by surprise.

Looking meekly at the ground, she couldn't deny it. "I just…" she was thinking of ways how to say it, which took her longer than expected.

Not continuing her own words, Eren spoke up "You have a bad feeling again?" The way he just voiced out her thoughts with such sarcasm made her feel a bit frustrated.

"I know that the other times were… a failure, but this time, I can just feel it." She said with a determined face. For some reason, there was a huge tension building between the two.

Before Eren had another saying, Armin spoke up to stop the two from arguing. "Well, maybe you just need to rest. I mean, You've been working really hard nowadays, Lei…" He's not making eye contact. Instead, he was waving his free hand as if to emphasize that what Leia's intuition is nothing to worry about, but it's evident that his voice was filled with worry.

She couldn't help but snort by the irony. "Oh please, compared to Mikasa's, my job is nothing." Her askant eyes looking away, Leia spoke in a somewhat envious-tone. Luckily, no one noticed.

"Wha-! What did you mean by that?" Eren reacted, turning his head to his right to face Leia's. He was dumbstruck by the possible meanings of what she said.

"What?" Merely shifting her eyes, she couldn't tell why he responded like that, not until Armin laughed.

"Oh! I get it!" the blonde boy expressed mirth that seemed so innocent that it made him seem adorable at the moment.

While the two arguing remained dumbstruck, soon enough, Mikasa chuckled in amusement aswell "I must admit that taking care of Eren sure is a handful".

Slowly understanding the joke, Leia made a hearty laugh. It was so radiant and beaming that the tension was gone and that the other two laughed along with her. The brunette boy would've been angry, but seeing how happy his companions were made him just shrug the joke off. Rolling his eyes, he walked ahead and pretended to be pissed off but ended up smiling to himself. Then a thought came to him.

"Hey, let's all meet at town tomorrow morning, ok guys?" turning around to face his friends. He looked at each and every one of them with an expectant look on his face.

"Tomorrow? Oh. Sorry Eren, but I promised my grandpa I'd help around the house" the blonde boy played with his fingers to avoid looking at Eren straight in the eye.

"What? But it's really important!" Now he was acting a bit too childish and pushy, but it didn't budge since Armin closed his eyes and gently shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Eren. Maybe next time then." With that, Armin decided to make his way home. The blonde looked at Mikasa and Leia and silently bid goodbye then took off. He could've sworn he saw a faint blush on his cheeks.

Eren could tell that Leia was about to make some kind of excuse as well since she was fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. "Don't tell me you're not going too?" Instead of saying yes, she just shook her head and dashed away, probably due to Eren's intimidating stare.

"Hey! Was that a yes or what?" the brunette yelled, but it seemed that it didn't reach her. Either that or she was ignoring him. He hoped that it wasn't the latter. Kicking the ground, he grunted, annoyed by the fact that none of his friends wanted to hang out tomorrow. He took a quick peek at Mikasa. '_if those two are gone, that leaves me with…_' Eren gulped with a shudder. _'It really feels like she's babysitting me. It's so frustrating.'_

"Let's go home, Eren. Your mom must be worried sick by now." Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Mikasa grabbed Eren's hand and started dragging him towards their house.

"Let go, Mikasa! I can't walk normally with you gripping my hand so hard!" he tried to escape but to no avail. Letting out a sigh, He later gave up and just adjusted his pacing to match Mikasa's.

* * *

"…Hey" the girl with black hair turned her head to look at Eren, with a questioning look on her face.  
"What is it?"  
"Haven't you ever wondered where Lei always runs to every time she says 'I'll be back'?"

Apparently, asking Mikasa that question was a wrong move because before he knows it, she stopped at her trail and stared at Eren. It was a long and painfully awkward moment of gazing at each other, and to Eren's relief, she looked away and guessed "her house, maybe." She then proceeded with walking while dragging him by the hand. This time, she was walking faster, and pulling Eren, who was struggling to take his hand back, harder than before.

"Then, Where IS her house then? You're both girls. You know more about her than me and Armin combined."

"What?" Eren sweat-dropped, hoping that Mikasa wouldn't stare him down again.

"You're acting as if you want to spy on her, Eren. Or should I say, stalk her, you stalker."

A vein was bulging at the top of his head. He was offended. Eren didn't like being called names, especially when it's about lying and stalking or stuff that he clearly doesn't do so he did his best to give Mikasa a menacing glare to show how serious he was. Sadly, it didn't work since she wasn't looking his way. But Mikasa was nice enough to answer his question.

"She said she didn't like having guests at her home, so she never did." She said as if it was obvious.  
"Why?"  
"She said she doesn't want to talk about it."

Now that made Eren even more curious. "But WHY?"

Mikasa gave him a good long look before proceeding forward. It was a silent 'I-swear-its-like-you're-being-a-stalker-right-now ' look. That made Eren shut up at the moment.

Sulking, he started to think to himself all the way home. '_Why is Mikasa acting like I stepped on horse crap or something? She's being unreasonably snobbish.'_ He was staring at their entwined hands _'Besides, friends are supposed to tell the truth, not keep secrets from each other.'_ he contemplated while looking at his free hand. '_If anything, it's Lei who's at fault here.' _He didn't want to give the topic up just yet. He spoke up.

"Hey Mikasa," he closed his fist " I have a plan."

"And what is this plan you're talking about? Can I join?" in front of them, a tall figure stood while her soft and slim hand went down to ruffle his hair gently.

"M-mom! Stop treating me like a kid!" It took him a while to realize that he was already home.

As He was storing the collected twigs and branches in a box, Clara, Eren's mother, cheerfully looked at him. "That's a lot of firewood you brought home. I bet Mikasa helped out, huh?" His mother said while giving him a peck on his cheek.

Wiping his cheek with the back of his hand, "I'll be in my room." Eren said while begrudgingly went to his bedroom. He opened his drawer and grabbed a pen and paper for him to write on. _'Mikasa wasn't the only one who helped…'_

* * *

Sitting at his chair, he thought of ways to find out where Lei lives. "Maybe if I asked her where she lives, maybe she'd-.. Ah who am I kidding?" he crumpled the piece of paper "If it were that easy, then we would've known by now." he threw that piece of paper backwards. "What if I forced her to-… agh, What am I saying?" another piece of paper went flying. "They're gonna think I'm a..." He didn't finish his statement. Tapping his pen at his lower lip, he had an idea.

"I know! Tomorrow, when we meet up, I'll follow her home then-… Then I'll be a stalker like Mikasa said, damn it!" He let out an annoyed sigh. After a few hours, and some more papers thrown into the trashcan (some missed and scattered on the floor), this time, he let out a huge frustrated scream. "What the hell? I'm not even sure whether she DOES go _home_ everytime she says 'she'd be back'! Agh! What's wrong with me!" He slammed his head unto the desk in defeat.

"What now, Eren?" It seemed that Mikasa was in the room sitting at the bed this whole time.

Not minding that fact, he complained "I also completely forgot about tomorrow! I guess I'll just have to look for Lei's house some other time." He laid back at his chair while using both his hands to wipe his face in an irritated way.

"What's with tomorrow anyway?" she finally asked with her hand holding up here chin.

"You didn't know?" he straightened up his posture then faced her. "The heroes are coming back! The overly awesome Recon Corps are gonna return!" now that gave his spirit back. His emerald green eyes sparkled by the mention of the group's name.

Mikasa didn't seem to be too pleased. She merely swung her feet to and fro. Instead, she brought up a topic Eren never wants to talk about. "Do you have some sort of feelings for Lei?"

Dropping his pen, he was too baffled to say anything intelligent. He kept on choking on his words. It took him nearly 3 minutes to stutter up a loud 'N-NO! '

Apparently not convinced, she crossed her arms to show authority. Narrowing her eyes, she continued "Oh, let me rephrase. You DO have feelings for her." Even though that they were at the same eye level, the way she was staring him down was outright terrifying.

"Mikasa! W-what's with that stupid question?! Of course not! B-besides! Aren't you going to do the same if ever I was in Lei's place?" he closed his eyes, hoping that if he did, this whole conversation would die out.

"You're too young to be having those feelings, Eren. I won't allow you." Ignoring his statement, Mikasa shook her head disapprovingly.

Sputtering what he was planning to say, his face turned red. He quickly stood at his feet then pointed an accusing finger at Mikasa. "Dammit Mikasa! You're just spouting out nonsense! Aren't you curious about what she's hiding from us? She always end up disappearing out of nowhere everytime us 4 are hanging out together! She might be a spy or something!"

He never really thought of her that way, he was just making up excuses so that Mikasa would drop the subject. He took a quick peek at her, checking if she bought it. Nope, she's still staring. Didn't work.

"Her house probably has some kind of secret passage to outside the Walls! Maybe that's where she goes!" Lying was not his forte, but if it could take Mikasa off his back, then he has no choice. He waited for her reaction.

She opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it afterwards. She wanted to say more, but she just raised an eyebrow and nodded. "I'm listening."

That made Eren relaxed a bit. "Like I said, I have a plan."

After that, the two discussed about the plan that would be held tomorrow afternoon. It took them all night to plan things out, but everything worked out in the end. They went to bed and slept. Or at least, Eren tried to.

There were so many things that made him wonder about that girl. Leia, herself, was a mystery. Around 5 years ago, she and her parents magically appeared in Wall Maria. But a few days after that, there were no news about where her parents may be. It's as if they disappeared. People would see her sitting by the riverbank, throwing pebbles and sometimes talking to herself.

She always gets paranoid by the littlest things like tiny noises from the streets, silent murmurs, nightmares and intuitions. Her very appearance was weird. Unlike her parents, she had reddish-brown hair and pale white skin. But her eyes were the weirdest part of her. She had silver white eyes, we even thought that she was blind.

She didn't look helpless though, nor did she look scared. She isn't as strong as Mikasa, but she isn't weak either. She just looked, out of place. As if she came from another universe. As if she didn't belong here. It took a while, but all that thinking made Eren fall asleep.

* * *

The sun was up, and the morning light spilled inside the room. Gently nudging his shoulder, Mikasa's soft and calm voice woke him up "Eren, wake up." He turned to his side, groaning, not wanting to get up. "The Recon Corps—" before Mikasa even finished, Eren got up,dashed out of his bed and to the front door.

Waving from outside the window, Eren yelled "Hurry up, Mikasa! They're here!" He was beaming.

Mikasa managed to catch up, and the two sprinted towards downtown where the huge gate was. From afar, they spotted an auburn-haired girl peeking out from the side of the building. Sure enough, It was Leia.

"Mikasa, Eren, Good morning!" she was normally a quieter person, but due to the crowd, her small voice wouldn't have been heard if she didn't speak out loud.

Getting near her, Eren asked "I thought that you weren't gonna come?" Instead of answering him, she gave him the pile of sticks she was still carrying.

"…I forgot to return this to you." showing him a tiny smile.

"Uh, thanks?" Eren shrugged.

The redhead then turned to Mikasa and asked "Did you perhaps see Armin around?"

She could hint the anticipation in her voice, but she brushed it off. "I think I did saw him. He was with his grandfather though."

The redhead sighed in relief which made Mikasa wonder whether this girl is, infact, hiding something from them. The raven-haired girl was about to question her, but all words was lost when the large silver bell rang. Everything went quiet.

As the gate opened, none of the three expected to see what was in front of them.

What they saw was battered men covered in bloody bandages. Some were badly wounded, while others, weren't as lucky. But that wasn't the worst part. In the rear, there came a horrible stench that reached even from where the trio was standing. Carriages. Carriages filled with bodies. Dead Bodies.

Despair was in the air and Eren was not happy hearing empty comments like "getting eaten by monsters, again huh?" "We payed taxes for this?" "That's what happen when you leave the walls." He wanted to punch the lights out of those bastards. '_how could they be so heartless at a time like this?'_

Some people are mourning for their loved ones' death. Oddly enough, the redhead wasn't shocked at all. No, she just felt nothing. It's like she expected something like this to happen. Not making eye contact, she grabbed her friends' sleeves then whispered "Let's go."

It was a long walk home and they heard Leia's stomach grumbling. They decided to have lunch at Eren's place. They ate and sat quietly at the dinner table while Eren's mother did the dishes. "Thank you for the meal Mrs Jaeger." Leia politely said while walking up to her with her plate and utensils in her hands. "It was very delicious."

The nice mother was about to smile, when suddenly they heard Mikasa spurt out "Eren wants to join the Recon Corps."

Eren, who was still eating, chocked abit. "M-Mikasa! You Traitor!"

His mother went near him, then held him by his arms and started scolding him. "What are you thinking? Do you even know how many people die outside those walls?"  
"I do!"  
"Clearly you don't! What you're gonna do is suicide! I will not let that happen!"  
"But mom!"  
"No 'buts' mister!"

"Eren, why do you want to join the Recon Corps?" His father asked, intervening between the two.

"I just want to know what it's like outside. I don't want to be cramped up in these walls forever! I don't want to be treated like livestock. If no one does their job, then those who lost their lives will have died in vain!" Eren frantically screamed, wanting his point to be straightened out.

Without any more delays, his father nodded, then said that he was off to his short trip to the inner walls. He promised that he'd show Eren the basement when he returns, which made Eren very happy. "R-really?" His father nodded.

After waving goodbye, his mother persisted that he shouldn't join the Recon Corps and decided that he will not be allowed to, which frustrated him "Living like livestock is more stupid than wanting to live life to the fullest!" and made him run off. His mother was very worried so she asked Mikasa to look after each other. Doing that promise, she and Leia went after the brunette.

Up ahead, they saw three bullies ganging up on a blonde boy. It was Armin. Eren went ahead and tried to stop them, but as soon as they saw Mikasa, they ran away. Eren was bragging about how those bullies ran away, scared of him. A snort was heard from the auburn girl but she was hiding her face, denying it. Eren was about to lend the blonde a hand when suddenly Leia crouched down and placed her hand on Armin's forehead, setting his bangs away.

She saw small cuts around his face. "Y-you're hurt! Those jerks hurt you! A-aren't you supposed to be with your grandfather?" She tried to help him up, but Armin declined. He didn't want to be helped. He didn't need it.

"I wanted to stay behind, hoping that I would see you guys here, so he went ahead." Gently rubbing his cheek, he brushed off the small dusts that were on his shirt.

She was still pretty pissed off by those dumb bullies, so she went looking for them. "I'll go teach those dumbbutts a lesson. I'll be back." Armin was about to stop her, but she ran farther and farther until you couldn't see her anymore.

* * *

The whole day was so filled with disappointment and a total letdown that none of them had it in them to smile. "So that's what happened, huh? I figured as much." Armin looked up at the sky with a defeated look. The 3 of them were at the riverbank, sitting at the stairway. They were talking about how Eren wanted to join the Recon Corps to go outside and see the outside world. "Everyone would be fools if they thought that these walls would protect us forever."

Looking at his tiny hands, Eren clenched his hands until his knuckles were white. "For some reason, I think what Lei said was right."

Mikasa was sulking the whole time, and by the mention of her name, she sulked even more. It wasn't that she didn't like Leia, if anything, she really liked her. She was just worried that Eren might be taken away from her. Setting her thoughts aside, she asked "What was it?"

Before her question got answered, in an instant, a bright lightning bolt blinded everyone, followed by a large earthquake that sent the 3 flying in mid-air. Everyone was panicking, and the trio wanted to check out what happened. Up in the top of the walls, A hand emerged. Dread was in the pits of their stomachs. '_Run…'_

"…N-no way."

A head slowly came up to take a peek. "T-that wall is 50 meters high! T-there's no way-!" Eyes widening, they couldn't help but be aghast by what they are seeing right now. '_Get away…now..!'_

The huge titan raised his foot, getting ready to strike a huge blow. A familiar voice kept echoing in their minds. A voice that made them feel so nostalgic. It was a petite and squeaky small voice that they always hear calling out their names. Slowly, It was getting louder. It was…screaming.

"…_Eren!"_

Eren turned to look, checking if whether he was just imagining the sound. _'…Lei?_'

The titan kicked the wall so hard that an enormous debris of the walls flung, destroying the buildings, and sending people flying like ragdolls. Some of them were crushed by the debris itself. That's where all hell takes loose. It was utter chaos.

Everyone was running fear-driven, away from the massive hole; away from the suddenly appearing titans; running for their poor and miserable lives. But Eren was walking forward, every step, making himself closer to what may lead to his very destruction. People were bumping into him, but he didn't care. "..My house is over there." He said absentmindedly.

From small steps to huge strides, he ran to where his house is- used to. "Mom!" "MOM!"

He ran forward, then made a couple of turns, he went up the hill, and turned right turn. Right ahead, if he makes a left turn, he should see a perfectly normal house without a single scratch on it. The house should be okay. It should be okay. It must be. "…!"

"MOM! Where are you!?" He was panicking, face filled with sheer terror and guilt. He ran near his house and started digging into the demolished home with his bare hands. Tears were starting to form in his eyes. "Mom! Mom! Mom, talk to me!"

"Eren!"

_'…that voice.'_ The brunette turned to see where the voice is coming from. "Eren! Get away from there right now!" He started to get up, then went to where the voice came from.

Grabbing his hand, she gave Eren a squeezing and warm hug. "*sniff*… Mom. I'm sorry I made you angry…" Shushing him, she gently wiped his tears away.

"Dear, we need to go to some place safe. Be strong for a while, okay?" She then started leading the boy away from the place they once called home.

"Wait! Mom! Where's Mikasa and Armin? Where's Leia? Why were you outside the house?" There were so many questions that Eren wanted to ask, but there's a limit to how much air he could use with his little body.

"I'm sorry dear but I don't know where they are. They probably went ahead into the boat, hopefully. As for Leia, she was the reason why I'm here. She warned me that something bad will happen," she took a deep breath ", and that it was safer outside. But the moment I took my eyes away from her, she was gone." She explained as she was running for her life.

"What! But, Where is she? We can't just leave her after what she'd done for us!" Eren tried to struggle from his mother's grip, but she wouldn't budge.

"Eren! No! She might've gone ahead like the other two!" Clara cried, trying to pull him to where the dock is.

"But what if she hasn't? What if she was still there waiting or something? I have to go back!"

"Eren, please! Listen to your mother, even just this once!"

"Mom, Just go without me! I'll be fine! I'll be back, I swear!" He had a determined look on his face. The same face he remembered _she _was wearing. _…Huh. I just said the same words she said._

He was waiting for his mother's response or to just let go, but when he realized that the reason why Clara wasn't responding was…. A 5- metered titan was standing right behind them. It had a malicious grin that could scare even the buffest person around.

"Run!" was all he could muster to shout. He urged his mother to run as fast as she could, just to get away from the horrible beast. He tried to run as far as his little legs tried to drag him, but he was no match for the titan. "AH!"

"EREN!" Clara tried to pull him away, but the titan got Eren by his legs and he was being held upside down. "Let go of him, you monster!" She tried to take a piece of wood and used it to stab the monster's foot. It was probably the most stupidest thing she could've done, because all she did was provoke the titan even more.

The titan then shook Eren back and forth until he was about to pass out. With its' free hand, it slammed Clara, sending her flying 20 feet away, bruising her up badly. She even seemed to be have some broken limbs.

The titan opened his mouth, about to chunk Eren's body into half, when something sharp went straight into the titan's eye. It was a small pocket knife. It let out a terrible screech, making everyone's ears burn inside out. The titan let go of Eren, making him plummet into the ground. "Mr Hannes!" _…that voice sounds awfully familiar._

"Don't worry Eren. I've got you." The blonde older man said, tossing him over his back. "Mikasa! Help me get Clara up!" He yelled so loud that Eren seems to have a headache. _Oh wait, so that was Mikasa…_

"yes sir!" Mikasa said while putting Clara's arms around her neck. "Can you stand, Mrs Jaegar?"

"Y-yes. I ca—Behind you!" Clara pointed forward, her whole body shaking with fear.

The titan, fully regenerated, is now running straight towards the two male. He seemed more aggressive now than ever. "Mr Hannes! Hurry!"

He was running as fast as he could, as if his life depended on it (which, it did). He even left his 3D gear just to make the weight less. He barely even had time to breathe. He was too focused on getting away alive. He didn't see this huge debris at the ground, which made him tumble down. The titan carried the two of them up, one at each side. A scream was heard.

"LET THEM GO YOU BIG UGLY SON OF A BASTARD!"

That caught the titan's attention, even for the shortest time, but decided to ignore it a minute later. The titan was going to devour one of them first, so it could have a free hand. The monster bit the male's body into two, sending blood spluttering all over like a water fountain. Some of the blood reached the other male in his hand. He came back to his senses.

"Mr Hannes!" Eren screamed at the top of his lungs, mortified to see the upper half of the older blonde severed. What's even scarier was, Hannes was still alive and moving, trying to escape the titan's mouth. He tried to fight back now, slamming his small fists to the hand that was wrapped all over him.

The sound of slashing was heard. The titan's hand where Eren was, got sliced off and fell into the ground. The titan screeched once again. This time, no one was there to break Eren's fall. There was, however, a hand grabbing him by the collar and urging him to run off; the same hand that he wanted to take hold all day.

He shouldn't have these types of thoughts, like Mikasa said. It was too early, heck, they're running for their lives right now. Yet he couldn't believe his eyes. Seeing her alive and well made him forget about everything else at the moment. He opened his mouth to ask her a question "The others are safe. While you and Mr Hannes were diverting the Titan's attention," she took a deep breath then said "I helped Mikasa and your mother escape. They're with Armin right now. I hope." He was glad that they were safe, but that wasn't the question that he wanted to ask.

He opened his mouth to try and question her again. "You wanted to know where I live?" The auburn girl asked, not even letting the brunette answer for himself. "Mikasa told me you were making a huge ruckus." He just stared at her, not knowing what to say as a response to that. "Are you stupid or something?" She was being spiteful, which surprised even Eren. "If you really wanted to know, You could've just asked." There was an implied 'obviously' in the end.

He was starting to get really annoyed. "That's not the question I wanted to ask you." Honestly, running and thinking of words to say is a hard thing to multitask, especially when you have a 5-meter tall beast trailing your tail. "I just wanted to kn-" he was cut off when she suddenly pushed him away, into a pile of garbage. "Hey! What was that for!?"

She placed her slim finger in front of her lips. Sign-languaging, she said that the brunette should hide in the pile of garbage for a little while longer, saying that the titan would catch up to them and ended up killing him. _Wait what? Why isn't she hiding aswell? She'd gone mad and she's gonna die! _She made a sign-language again, saying. "Trust me."

Sooner than expected, the titan was now in front of her, eyeing her madly. She breathed heavily, obviously not used to seeing titans way up close. Then suddenly, a chunk of wood went straight to its stomach. It bounced off harmlessly though, making the titan stare at it for a few minutes. If titans had emotions, it would've felt something like _'what-the-hell-was-that?A-teddybear-throw?ha-ha-ha -ha'_. The titan went straight ahead, completely ignoring the girl in front of him. Instead, it followed someone else.

The brunette thought that everything was going okay, not until Leia panicked. "No! What are you doing?! Please, get away now! Y-you shouldn't be here! This isn't right!" Turning his head, he checked out to see the sucker who threw the wood. That sucker was his mom.

Before he could yell out to her, his mother talked to Leia "I'm only doing what I think it's right and fair! You saved me and my boy once, and I'll do the same for you!" again, she picked up a piece of wood and began throwing it towards the titan.

"You shouldn't have come back! T-this shouldn't have happened! I-I could've handled myself! Run away now!" this time, the auburn girl was suspiring, snuffling, as if all her efforts of stopping Clara's death was all for naught. Her voice ceased. She started gagging, as if there was no oxygen for her to breathe.

She cringed, dropping at the ground, her eyes turned from silvery white to blood red. She had that blood-thirsty look in her eyes. She was grasping her throat as if she was choking. She wanted to call out for help. Eren would've ran straight to her side if it weren't for the dread he felt. Not fear of the titan, but fear of… what he was about to approach to. "…Leia?"

Everything turned into the color gray and went still for a moment, or maybe it went slow motion. Maybe that was why he couldn't move an inch. The adrenaline rush he was feeling made everything painfully slow. He could've sworn he saw something hovering above his friend.

A low chuckle broke the silence. _"It's all hopeless. I tried to save you. Really, I did. But you just love dying, huh Clara?" _The same girl, the same voice, but it seemed like a different person. Is that even a _person_? The titan was walking closer and closer to Eren's mother. The auburn girl stood up, acting as if nothing happened.

"_You didn't have to play hero. No one asked you to." _She was walking towards her, slowly, with a sad look on her face. "_Oh well. I've seen the future, and you're gonna die." _Closing her eyes, she chuckled once again then murmured something indecipherable. All what Clara could do was look up in sheer horror. The titan was a mere 10 centimeters away from her. "_ Die, in 3, 2, 1."_

Having lost his 'apetite', the titan stepped on her instead, splattering blood around as if he stepped on a little puddle. A puddle filled with filthy red blood. Some of the blood even reached across Leia's face, though she wasn't bothered by it. If anything, she was amused.

The titan went ahead and completely ignored the girl behind it. This time around, Leia(?) signalled the brunette that the coast was clear. She walked closer to the poor boy who's paralyzed with fear. "_Eren, I'm about to pass out now. It's up to you whether you bring me with you or leave me here to rot. I wouldn't blame you since, in a way, you could say that I killed your mother." _she smiled weakly.

Her eyes flickered back into its' original silvery color. "N-no! P-please don't leave me! I didn't kill your mother! I-I didn't mean this to happen! Swear! I'm no murderer, please Eren! D-don't… Don't leave me…. here…" Her eyes became foggier than it already is. Eren caught her just in time so that her head wouldn't bump into the ground.

Tears fell from his face. Conflicted with mixed emotions he never got to deal with. "….Why…"  
He was walking forward, carrying Leia on his back. He was walking painfully slow, It's a miracle how the other titans were ignoring him. His face was devoid of any life. He saw many deaths, and almost experienced it himself.

"If you had told us... told _me_ right from the very beginning, I would've believed you."

Walking ever so slowly, he knew he was talking to an unconscious person, but it didn't matter. Deep inside, he knew that she could hear him. He's not letting anyone stop him from telling what he wants to say. What he _really_ wants to say.

"How… How could you expect me to trust you when you, yourself, didn't trust us enough with that secret of yours?"

He was shaking now. Not because of the titans now scattered around him, but of anger and regret. He couldn't care less about those stupid titans. Right now, he just wanted some answers.

"We.. We could've saved a lot of people… A LOT…"

"Hell. I still don't know shit about you. And yet you…"

"You'd rather save my life than anyone else's…."

Leia's arms were wrapped around his neck, as if acting like a shield. Even when walking in a place filled with titans, no one even gave them much of a second glance. They completely ignored them. The titans didn't even seem to notice them.

"The reason why you didn't want me to leave you was because… you wanted to protect me even up to now."

"You wanted to be my shield. My protector…"

He was walking slower and slower as minutes passed. Then he halted. Wanting to say more, he gnarled at the thoughts he made a moment ago. He deeply inhaled before continuing to speak. He clenched his fists.

"I just… I don't know if I could do the same for you…"

He didn't realize it, but a teardrop streamed down from the girl's cheek.

* * *

**Author's note: **SOOOO! Love it? Hate it? How's the story? Did it ended up the way you wanted it to be? :D  
This seriously ended up longer than expected, and I haven't even got to my favourite part yet! : ( So if you awesome readers liked this story, I might end up making more! Please leave reviews so I could improve on… whatever needs improving! I'll do my best to do my beary beary best! ^^

Yuruya out!


	2. Hospital Trouble

It was eerily quiet, but in a moment or two, she could hear voices calling out to her, voices that seemed ever so familiar. She tried to open her eyes, wanting to see who she's hearing, but her eyelids were so heavy. She can't wake up. It was dark, really dark. When was the last time she'd been to a place this dark anyway? She can't remember, but the way she felt shivers up her spine just told her that it's something she doesn't want to relive.

Something clutched into her arm, which freaked her out. She tried to struggle, but the more she did, the more restraint she became. She wanted to scream, but no matter how much she tried, nor how many times she opens her mouth, not a sound could be heard. _Must…wake…up… _chanting those words like a mantra, slowly, she's regaining consciousness.

'_I think she's waking up now_.' W-who's there..? '_Hurry! Call the doctor!' _Doctor..? Why? Why'd they need a doctor for? _'Hey, what are you doing here? You're not allowed to be in here, get out!'_

The clicking of heels on the marbled floor echoed. The sound was getting across one side to the other, and she was sure she just heard somebody screaming_. Need to wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Open your eyes and just wake the hell up._

The light from the open window escaped into the bedroom making it shine on her face, which made her squint her silver eyes. Fluttering them back open again, she took note of her surroundings. White ceilings, white walls, room dividers, coughing patients. Yep, she's in a hospital no doubt about it. _That was a weird dream a while ago…_

Her body was aching and felt like it didn't move for years. She wanted to do some stretching, but the blanket wrapped around her made it seem impossible. After a shake or two, she managed to sit up straight on her hospital bed. It took her a while to notice that someone's arms were propped on the side of her bed, sleeping peacefully.

Slowly, she stroke some strands of the lad's hair away from his face, which made him awake from his slumber. Not knowing what to say, she said the most natural thing that came to her. "Hi."

The blonde boy seemed to be half-asleep, because the moment he came to, he stumbled backward and practically shouted her name out loud in surprise, which ended up waking some of the other patients up. "L-lei! You're finally awake!" His face looked tired, huge bags under his eyes. One look at Armin and you could tell that he was thinking of what to say next, shifting from his chair every once in a while.

The auburn girl couldn't help but smile albeit weakly. She likes seeing people being awkward. A flashbulb lit above her head, she had an idea. "You might want to clean that drool off your chin." She pointed at hers, showing him how to wipe it with an imaginary napkin. He squeaked, turning away then wiping it with his sleeve. "If you were dreaming about food, then it's okay." She nodded. "But if you were dreaming about girls that screamed 'sexy' all over…" pretending to grimace, she waited for his reaction.

"W-w-w-w-w-whaaat!?" Yep. Exactly the reaction that she was hoping for. Conflicted if whether she should keep teasing him or not, she decided not to. He didn't deserve it. "W-w-w-w-w-what made y-you t-t-t-thought of t-that!?" Though on the other hand…

Placing her hand on her cheek, she tried to look as concerned as possible. "You kept on making this weird sound. I thought that you were in danger but…" She was shaking her head, to make it more realistic. "then you called out a name, a lot of times, actually." She looked disappointingly at him, which earned her a mortified look from Armin. "What was that name again…?"

"N-n-n-n-n-nooooo! W-what are you-?! I-i-it was nothing! I dreamt of nothing! You have no crucial evidence to prove yourself right!" He was being unreasonably flustered. His voice was so loud, they were both reprimanded by the nurse from the other room. Armin stood up and they both apologized, promising to behave better. When the nurse left, Armin looked at Leia before leaving the room with a face that seemed undecipherable.

"I dreamt of nothing." He turned to leave. Looking back, he repeated "NO-THING." _Should I tell him that I made all those stuff up..? _She stared at him as he approached the door. He was trying to push through a door that clearly said 'PULL'. _Pfffft…_ She smiled. _…Nah._

* * *

It was noon and Leia was getting ready to leave the hospital, knowing that if she stayed any longer would cause all of them trouble. One by one, she collected her stuff, as few as they may be, then storing it in a tiny backpack. Shortly after, the door opened, revealing two of her small circle of friends. They clearly didn't seem to be glad to see her up.

The same as Armin's, their faces looked really haggard. It was evident that they hadn't been sleeping right. "Feeling better?" Mikasa asked, approaching the girl. Eren slowly followed, albeit reluctantly, obviously not wanting to see the person they're visiting.

Feeling obligated, she meekly gave them a smile. "Better than I'll ever be." _Though I wish I could say the same for you two… _She slung her bag behind her back, earning an offensive look from Eren, which made her look away in hurt. She didn't want to be turned into the bad guy here. Mikasa secretly pointed to the door and explained in a low voice. "Then let's get going, before they come back."

_Did I hear it right?_ "What do you mean? Who's 'they'?" Questions were once again left unanswered as the three of them were on their way to leave the hospital. "I'll explain later." Mikasa said with a hushing tone in her voice. The ravennette promptly nodded at Eren, making him follow suit. He was heading to a different direction to where the two girls are going, which Leia found strange not only because they broke formation, but the fact that Mikasa was alright with being separated to Eren.

She knew that questioning their actions would be ignored once again, so this time she just followed and kept her mouth zipped. There'd be times when people would throw looks at their direction, staring at the 'blind-girl-who-could-see'. "Close your eyes. They're on to us." As Leia complied, Mikasa held her hand and guided her through the hallways.

…_I forgot that people thought I was actually blind…  
Mikasa and the others didn't treat me that way before that it made me forget…_

Leia, having closed her eyes, did not know whether they were near the exit or not. Time seemed slower when you have no idea where you're going, let alone where you are. But there's one thing she's sure. She can feel the gut feeling whenever something bad will happen. It was one of those famous intuitions she always gets.

_We'll get caught._

Opening her eyes, she started dragging Mikasa towards a different direction, away from the original one. "What are you doing, Lei?" Mikasa questioned with panic, trying to stop her friend from ruining the original plan. Leia answered with the shortest possible answer she could think at the moment. "Trust me."

Before Mikasa could even ask what she meant by that, they went inside to another room, where other patients were resting. "I have no idea why or who we're hiding from, but we need to hide now." She asked the nice old patient if it'd be alright to play 'hide-and-seek' underneath her bed. Being old and a bit slow, she smiled at the redhead and nodded.

Leia crawled underneath, and ushered Mikasa to join her. "Hurry!" The blanket of the patient hid them perfectly underneath, which Leia thanked blissfully.

They were on fours when the door slammed open. "Are you sure this is where they went?" A stern and cold voice echoed through the room. It scared Leia so much that Mikasa had to cover her mouth to muffle her scream. Unfortunately for them, that didn't go unnoticed to the unwanted visitor. _Crap._

* * *

_**Author's note: **_Okay! Writing in 3rd Perspective is not my bread and butter…which, by the way, explains the lack of creativity and a good flow in the story. I don't know if this was better than the previous chapter, but I do hope that I improved, even in the tiddliest way. R&R please D: I'm craving for some review here! XD I made some Fanarts of SnK, you guys can check it out on my Deviantart :) (The link to my DApage is in my FFpage)

P.S.: Can you guess who the visitor was? If you guessed it right, good for you! :D (Maybe when I feel like it, in the next chapter, I'll ask another question and whoever guesses it right first will earn some sort of… I dunno, reward? Haha!

_Maybe Someday_….)


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